The books that I read on holiday

When I'm packing for a holiday I always spend a lot of time deciding which books I'm going to take with me. Different types of holiday require different reading material, and on our recent beach holiday, bookended with twelve hour flights, I knew that I would want to take lots of easy light reading with me.

So today I'm sharing all the books that I read on holiday in case you are looking for some summer reading inspiration. I've included links to the Kindle versions of the books, because at the time I downloaded them all of these books were either free or part of the Amazon Prime Reading library.

The Saturday Morning Park Run - Jules Wake

I've only actually ever run a Parkrun once but I love the concept, and so this book stood out to me immediately. It's the story of Claire who lives for her job, but after she is signed off work with stress she discovers that there is much more to life. She befriends an active older lady and a handsome young man who has recently lost his own stressful job. They work together with the local community to set up a new park run in their area, and it's a really lovely story about finding the things that are really important, forming new and unexpected relationships with others, and creating a positive work life balance.

The House on Blackberry Hill - Donna Alward

This book forms part of one of my favourite easy reading genres which I call the "inherited house renovation romance". I'll soon be sharing a few of my recent reads with this theme - a young woman at a crossroads in her life unexpectedly inherits an old house in an idyllic location from an unknown relative. She arrives to prepare it for sale, meets a handsome young man who helps with the building works and in the process uncovers all sorts of family secrets. This book also features a paranormal twist, and although it was fairly predictable it was also an enjoyable light read. 

The Easy Life in Kamusari - Shion Miura

I really enjoyed this short book about Yuki Hirano, who has just left high school when his parents enrol him against his will in a forestry training programme in a remote mountain village. At first he feels like an outcast and attempts to run away back to the city, but after a short while he finds himself deeply connected to the community and the forests. It's a fairy tale story with a healthy dose of magic realism, a tale about living in harmony with nature and a really charming read. It's also has some really interesting information about the work of a forester and how forests are maintained.

The Story of Our Secrets - Shari Low

I've read a few books by Shari Low and always find then nice, easy reads with interesting characters and stories. This book switches between Colm who is dying of a brain tumour, and Shauna his wife several years after his death, as she and her close group of friends come to terms with his loss and their own complicated relationships. The characters have messy lives and I found them a bit difficult to relate to, but I enjoyed seeing how the story unfolded and how situations resolved themselves.

Dopamine Detox - Thibaut Meurisse

I'm very interested in the topic of dopamine addiction and how smartphones, social media and so on are designed to keep us hooked, overstimulating us and generally destroying our ability to focus. This short guide isn't particularly ground breaking, but it's a really good introduction to the topic and has some great tips for completing a successful dopamine detox, whether that's removing all distractions for a short period or just focussing on one or two areas of your life for the longer term. I like to read books like this from time to time to remind me that there is much more to life than scrolling, and that will hopefully give me a nudge in the right direction!